Good morning all,
So, this week I made a huge decision to withdraw from a massive, multiyear research/academia project. It would have been managed by me and no other parties will be harmed by my decision or I might have had to reconsider.
I don’t know what it was that led to my decision yet but goodness did it feel liberating when I made the decision and voiced it to the people close to me. Now, I have some figuring out to do – I am curious about so much of my own process from how this thought arose in me (and why) as well as how to best use my time and whether I want to re-propose this project in future.
I do know that part of my process is that I have so many projects I have begun and not kept up with (like this site), turning my dissertation into a book, a research project that’s literally half done, a collaborative art project etc. And then others that I am less invested in but are lingering, I haven’t just called it and ended them.
The other thing I have been reflecting on is that I have chronically been the “too busy” friend who doesn’t get invited to things because I literally say, all of the time “I would love to but too busy”. Over the last few months I have been less busy, seen more of my friends and family, and it’s been fantastic. I need more of that. I think there is too much in the world that’s structured to encourage us to be home, alone, scrolling on our phones and shopping instead of out enjoying the people in our lives and not buying things. I want more of the former and much less of the latter.
So that’s my plan – from Michaelmas 2026 to Michaelmas 2027, I will work on existing projects, spend time with the people I love, and genuinely enjoy the year. And at the end of it, see if I still want to take on the big project. And yes, I’m writing that here as a sort of extra commitment.
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